Automatic catcher for cigarette making machine



Sept. 11, 1962 J. G. LONGENECKER AUTOMATIC CATCHER FOR CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE Filed March 2, 1960 INVENTOR JOHN G. LONGENECKER ATTO R N EY United States Patent "ice 3,053,378 AUTOMATIC CATCHER FOR CIGARETTE MAKING MACHINE John G. Longenecker, Long Island, N.Y., asslgnor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 12,349 9 Claims. (Cl. 198-139) This invention relates to an automatic catcher for a cigarette making machine.

In automatic catchers of the type shown in co-pending application, Serial No. 805,343, filed April 9, 1959, now Johnson et al. Patent No. 3,019,574, issued February 6, 1962, the cigarette distributor moves in and out and up and down when it is depositing cigarettes in the collecting tray. This necessitates the use of a telescoping belt since the operating run of the belt will be shortened when the distributor is in its upper position and in its retracted position and will be materially extended when the cigarette distributor is in its lowermost and most forward position.

As more fully described in co-pending application, Serial No. 805,343, a plurality of rollers was employed for taking up the slack in the distributing belt and a counter weight was suspended from rollers carried in the belt loops so as to maintain the proper tension on these belts.

It is the main object of this invention to dispense with the necessity of a counter weight and thereby lessen the overall weight of the automatic catcher mechanism.

Another object of this invention is to provide an interconnected belt takeup device which will take up and play out the loops of a telescoping belt automatically regardless of whether the delivery end of the belt is moved up and down or backwards and forwards.

A further object of this invention is to dispense with the necessity of heavy counter weights in a telescoping belt arrangement wherein the delivery end of the belt moves in various directions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a takeup device for an endless conveyor wherein the operating run of the conveyor is varied from time to time.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progressesv In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings.

The FIGURE in the diagram shows a schematic side,

elevation of the belt takeup mechanism for the .automatic catcher mechanism shown in co-pending application 805,343.

For purposes of illustration, I have shown how my belt takeup device can be employed with an automatic catcher mechanism such as that shown in co-pending application, 805,343, to which reference may be had if desired for a more complete description of an automatic catcher mechanism for a cigarette making machine. For the purposes of this invention, the primary elements of the catcher mechanism have been shown in combination with my belt takeup. Referring to the draw ings, an endless belt 10 travels over pulleys 12, 14, and 16, and is guided back to its starting position by means of pulleys 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 38 and 32.

The pulleys 24 and 28 are supported in loops 34, 36 and 38. The pulleys 22, 26 and 30 are supported at their opposite ends in the bracket 40. A pulley support 42 carries a freely rotatable pulley 44. The freely rotatable pulley 12 is supported in the frame of the auto- 3,053,378 Patented Sept. 11, 1962 matic catcher mechanism. The forward end of the belt 10 travels over pulleys 14 and 18 which are carried in a bracket 46 which carries at its forward end, a pulley 48. Bracket 46 is constrained to a horizontal path of movement. The bracket 50 supports rollers 16, 52, and the guide pulleys 54, 56, and the arcuate guide 58. The bracket 50 can be moved up and down relative to the bracket 46, and can simultaneously be moved back and forth in unison with the bracket 46. The bracket 50 is connected by a suitable bracket rod 59 to the bracket 60, which has an ear 62 to which is secured a pulley 64. It will thus be evident that the pulley 16 being mounted in bracket 50 will have a range of movement indicated by the dotted box showing a back and forth movement equal to X and an up and down movement equal to Y.

The bracket 60 has an extension 66 where there is provided an adjustable chain anchor 68 which can be screwed up and down in the extension 66 by the nut 70'. A suitable tension takeup spring 72 is provided between the upper side of the extension 66 and the nut 70.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that the bracket 60, the extensions 72 and 62 and the bracket 50 are all interconnected by the rod 59, so that all these units move together when they are moved up and down.

I will now describe the connections of my takeup device. The sprocket chain 74 suitably may consist of a flexible non-extensible cable or other suitable member. This chain 74 is connected at one end to the extension 42 and passes around a pulley 76 and then passes over a pulley 44, which is supported in the vertically movable bracket 42. The chain 74 then passes around the pulley 78 which is supported in a stationary bracket 80 in the the slack required in belt 10 is either taken up or played out, depending in which horizontal direction 46 is moved.

Because the bracket 50 is interconnected by the various devices previously mentioned with the anchor '68, when the roller 16 is moved upwardly, the anchor 68 will automatically be moved upwardly an identical distance. As a consequence, I have provided means for automatically taking up and playing out slack in accordance with the operating length of the belt 10.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that it is possible to move the delivery end of the belts 74d and 86 in either a horizontal or a vertical direction, or both, and an immediate proportional slackening or extension of the operating length of the belt 10 is automatically elfected, since the pulley system and the slack takeup system have the same mechanical ratio.

The advantages of my slack takeup device have been described in connection with a catcher for a cigarette making machine. It will be appreciated that wherever we have a combined component of movement wherein it is necessary to play in or play out an endless elongated member, this can now very readily be done by using my takeup device instead of using either springs or counter weights for this purpose.

The invention hereinabove described may therefore 'be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine having combined horizontal and vertical components of movement necessitating playing in and playing out an endless belt, means for reciprocally moving simultaneously the operating end of said belt horizontally and vertically, a slack takeup device comprising operatively associated with said belt, a pulley system guiding said belt and adjustable means operably connecting said slack takeup device with the delivery end of said belt and actuated thereby.

2. In an automatic catcher for a cigarette making machine, having a belt, means for moving the operating end of said belt simultaneously horizontally and vertically, a slack takeup device operatively associated with said belt, comprising a pulley system, and means operably connecting said slack takeup system with the delivery end of said belt to actuate said take up device.

3. In combination in an automatic catcher for a cigarette making machine having a frame and an endless delivery belt, moving means for simultaneously moving reciprocally said belt vertically and horizontally, freely rotatable pulleys mounted on said frame for guiding said belt, a slack takeup device having a plurality of pulleys thereon for forming a plurality of loops in the slack run of said belt when the same is trained thereover and means operably connecting said device with the delivery end of said belt.

4. In an automatic catcher for a cigarette making machine having an endless delivery belt and simultaneously reciprocating vertically moving and horizontally moving bracket associated with said belt, a vertically movable slack takeup device operatively connected to said bracket and said belt so as to provide an immediate proportional slackening or tensioning of the operating length of said belt corresponding and responsive to the movement of said bracket.

5. A slack takeup device for use in connection with a machine having combined horizontal and vertical components of motion necessitating the playing in and the playing out of an endless belt having a first series of pulleys in the slack run thereof, comprising a vertically movable base having in the upper portion thereof a series of pulleys for forming loops in the slack run of said belt in conjunction with said first series of pulleys and means in the lower portion of said base for operatively connecting the same with the delivery end of said belt.

6. In combination with an automatic catcher for a cigarette making machine having a frame and an endless delivery belt having a series of pulleys in the slack run thereof, a horizontally movable bracket interconnected with a vertically movable bracket, the lower part of said vertically movable bracket having a guide pulley for said belt and an arcu-ate guide therefor, the upper part of said same bracket having an extension bearing adjustable anchor means thereon, a slack takeup device comprising a vertically movable base having pulleys thereon forming a plurality of loops in the slack run of said belt in conjunction with said series of pulleys and cable means secured at one end thereof to said base and at the other to said anchor means on said bracket and pulley bearing stationary brackets for said cable for taking up slack.

7. A slack takeup device for an automatic catcher for cigarette making machines having an endless delivery belt, comprising a fixed base and a bracket vertically movable with respect to said base, a plurality of pulleys on the upper portion of said bracket guiding loops in the slack run of said belt, a pulley on the lower portion of said bracket and pulleys on said fixed base, a sprocket chain connecting said pulley on said bracket and said pulleys on said base, the number of pulleys around which said chain passes between said bracket and base being equal to the number of said loops in said belt, said chain linking said bracket with the delivery end of said belt for taking up slack in said belt.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein said chain is provided with tension takeup spring means to permit minor adjustments in the operation of said device.

9. In combination in an automatic catcher for a cigarette making machine having a frame and an endless delivery belt, a plurality of fixed belt-receiving pulleys, a vertically movable bracket interconnected with a horizontally movable bracket for simultaneous reciprocal movement, the lower part of said vertically movable bracket having a belt-receiving pulley and an arcuate guide therefor, the upper part of said same bracket having an extension provided with an adjustable chain anchor vertically with respect to said extension, and spring means intermediate said extension and said adjusting means, the lower part of said same bracket having a belt-receiving pulley; said horizontally movable bracket having beltreceiving pulleys and a chain-receiving pulley; means for maintaining a predetermined tension on the slack run of said belt comprising a base vertically movable with respect to said frame to take up said belt or to relieve tension therefrom in a direction to maintain said predetermined tension on said belt, said base having on the upper part thereof a plurality of belt-receiving pulleys for forming loops in said belt when the same is trained thereover and over in said fixed belt-receiving pulleys, a pulley on the lower portion of said base, a fixed base having pulleys thereon, chain means operatively connecting said pulley on said movable base and said pulleys on said fixed base to said chain anchor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,686,673 Morgan Aug. 17, 2,798,623 Girardi July 9, 1957 2,863,553 Nordquist Dec. 9, 1958 2,902,142 Girardi Sept. 1, 1959 

